kirwanfreelance

I had no idea what to expect, and I was still blown away. The writing, the acting, the concept - all remarkably well executed. You've probably read other reviewers' synopses and/or seen the trailer before reading this review, so I won't get into that. Instead, let me just say that this is a very Black Mirror-esque short with a simple but really quite plausible (in 2024) premise. The script manages to introduce the Reality+ product to us, along with its pros and cons, very succinctly and logically. It also demonstrates human vanity in a very genuine manner without over stating it. The characters are few, and that is ideal - we only need the ones we're given. Finally, the runtime is perfect - this could have been stretched to an hour or so, but it didn't need to be - and I'm glad that the writer didn't feel the need to do so. Overall, a really entertaining watch, expertly executed, and one I would highly recommend.

It's meant to be thought-provoking, I get that, but aside from that, I don't get the real point here. We're invited to look upon the beauty of these renaissance-style women, but we get more than we may have wished for - their very insides are surgically exposed, even methodically sliced away bit by bit at one point, but to what end?

'Surgery is the new sex' is the second line of the description, but is this short meant to be a take on, or shine a light on, modern society's vanity? I feel like this was a fleeting idea that was turned into a bizarre reality with no real pause to wonder if it should even really exist. Although, maybe that's the question it intends to raise - we can surgically alter our bodies for vanity's sake, but does that mean we should?

My answer is this: spend 4 minutes considering that question in your own time rather than spending those 4 minutes watching this.

Firstly I'll say that I found the story very bland and uninteresting. It's very obviously supposed to be scary, and indeed it is unsettling, but the finale is very disappointing and anticlimactic.

That said, I enjoyed how it was presented/executed. The tale is told by a male voiceover in the style of an old fairytale, and it is shown in series of still images with accompanying audio recordings rather than rolling footage. Some of the images are out of focus, almost as though they were taken by an amateur photographer or someone using a disposable camera. This gives it the look and feel of a slide show or a modern picture book, and really benefits the pacing of the story. It also supports the unsettling nature of the story quite well.

Overall, however, I didn't love the story itself, hence the low rating. Worth watching for the interesting execution, but be prepared for an underwhelming story finale.